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Loading... The Big Four (1927)by Agatha Christie
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Horrible. 4 Agatha Christie seems to have a legendary status as a mystery writer, but up until recently, I've read very few of her books. I took a long time in reading this one. I liked it better than the previous one I read which was a series of short stories--though a couple times in this one it felt like Christie had some short stories that she made fit the Big Four plot. I guessed a couple of the twists because they were also used by Conan Doyle in Sherlock Holmes books. there are parts of this that are fun and obviously the way he solves the crimes is at least interesting, but overall this was way too much swagger and bluster for me, with utterly ridiculous plot devices. poirot obviously actually cares about his friend hastings, but he treats him abominably, to the point that it was hard to read about it. i know this was written almost a hundred years ago (so i'm ignoring the racism) but i really dislike the way she mentions something randomly and then it immediately becomes pertinent, in the same way i never like the way every conclusion that poirot amazingly (and with no evidence, often) leaps to is always correct. he annoys me more than compels me, i think. and her use of just about every possible trick and method of murder in this one was way over the top for me. A very odd Poirot novel. He & Hastings travel around trying to locate The Big Four supervillains who want to take over the world. Poirot comes across as a sub-standard James Bond. Give me a closed country house / train / ocean liner setting with a small group of suspects & a murder any day. NB. Reading other reviews I understand this was 12 short stories mashed together - and it shows in the disjointed novel.
Belongs to SeriesHercule Poirot (3) Belongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inAgatha Christie Crime Collection: The Pale Horse / The Big Four / The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie 1920s Agatha Christie, Vol. 3: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Big Four, The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie Has the adaptation
Fiction.
Mystery.
HTML: Famed private eye Hercule Poirot tackles international intrigue and espionage in this classic Agatha Christie mystery. Framed in the doorway of Hercule Poirot's bedroom stands an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust. The man stares for a moment, then he sways and falls. Who is he? Is he suffering from shock or just exhaustion? Above all, what is the significance of the figure 4, scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper? Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his lifeâ??and that of his "twin brother"â??to uncover the truth No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.912Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1901-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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